The Emergence And Development Of The Action Committee For Higher Education (ache): From Crisis To Institutionalization (joint Venture, Associations, Public Relations, Grassroots)

The purpose of the study is to trace, describe and analyze the creation, development, motivation and impact of the Action Committee for Higher Education (ACHE) as an organizational instrument influencing higher education legislation in the 1980s. Concepts from organizational analysis and communication theory are used to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of the study.This is a case study that follows ACHE from its inception through 1985. It is a case embedded in the larger contextual quadrangle of general association-institution relations, association-association relations, association-grassroots relations and association-federal government relations. The study's focus is on the role of information processing in the genesis and development of ACHE and that organization's efforts to promote activity among the grassroots community in opposition to proposed cuts in student financial aid.